Liam Neeson was offered the opportunity to reprise his role as Ra's al Ghul on the TV show Arrow, but the Oscar-winning actor had to pass because he didn't have the time for The CW series.

Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW, told BuzzFeed that the network reached out to Neeson, who played Ra's al Ghul in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. “We never thought he would,” said Pedowitz. “We quickly went to him, just on the off-chance that he had the time to do it.”

But Neeson didn't have time for filming Arrow, even though he was willing to return as The Demon's Head. That ultimately gave way for Australian actor Matt Nable to tackle the role. Nable is set to premiere as Ra's al Ghul on Arrow during the fourth episode of this season.